A thorn in my side

“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?” Matthew 7:16

A thorn in my side means that something or someone is a constant source of irritation or annoyance to you. This idiom comes from 2 Corinthians 12:7 where Paul says, “...to keep me from being conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me.”

Paul doesn’t say exactly what his thorn is, but we do know that he pleaded with the Lord to be relieved of this affliction and he was denied. The Lord answered him in verse 9 saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

We all have some kind of weakness. When we’re weak and afraid to tackle something, that gives us the opportunity to let God’s strength shine through us. Paul got it! He realized that through his own weakness God would be glorified.

Our way is certainly not God’s way all the time. It’s called free will. I believe sometimes God lets us fail or flounder so we can realize just how much we need him. When we do everything without seeking the will of God, we become prideful and puffed up. God wants us to stay humble before him and give Him credit for all the great things he has done in our life.

Just as Paul embraced the “thorn in his side”, we too have to embrace the thorn in ours. By the grace of God we are able to display to others the divine power of the Holy Spirit. He equips us with what we need when we need it and as it says in 2 Corinthians 12:10b, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”